Interesting article on aggressive dog breeds

[mantine]

Surprising dogs breeds to be wary of
by Angie Felton Jul 7th 2008 9:00AM

Categories: In the news

When you think of dangerous dog breeds, which animal do you picture: a pit bull or a wiener dog?

According to the results of research published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, the breed most prone to aggression is the dachshund. New research that involved questioning 6,000 dog owners, found that one in five dachshunds have bitten (or tried to bite) strangers, a similar number have attacked other dogs, and that one in 12 have even snapped at their owners.

Prior research on dog aggression focused solely on dog bite statistics. Using that data, breeds like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Dobermans were thought to pose the most danger. Researchers now feel prior studies were not painting a full picture, as most dog bites (especially those of smaller dogs) go unreported and were not included in the past.

Chihuahuas ranked second on the list of aggressive dogs, while Jack Russell Terriers came in third.

Just like with people, it's not fair to stereotype an entire group based on the actions of a few. But it's also good know some small dogs might not be the ideal choice for children.

From AOL: http://www.parentdish.com/2008/07/07/dogs-breeds-to-be-wary-of/?icid=100214839x1205268256x1200258744

Thought everyone would find it interesting to see that the "usual" aggressive dogs aren't #1

 

[Lilavati]

I find this utterly unsurprising, though I might not have expected Dachshunds to be FIRST . . but little dogs snap . . I keep TELLING people this who hae kids and want a dog . . . and they never believe me

 

[bubbatd]

Not surprised here ...............

 

[borzoimom]

Interesting but I must admit- I am not too surprised. I have met more " tempermental" doxies than any other breed. Also- some seem to be harder to housebreak as well.

 

[noludoru]

I'm surprised DOXIES of all the toy breeds won "number one" on the list, I was expecting Chis (sorry Chihuahua owners - it's nothing against you all, just the crazy ones I have met). JRTs, in the wrong hands, now that I definitely believe. A hard, intelligent breed to begin with + stupid people who like to hit dogs.... recipe for disaster.

 

[Zoom]

I've been nailed on the leg, completely unprovoked, by more doxies...Wire-Haired FT's are the other frequent culprit. I know some people find those dogs utterly charming, I can't stand a single one once it gets past 5 months old.

 

[Sweet72947]

One could argue that the mass BYBing of all these little cute breeds is causing a massive output of dogs with poor temperaments.

 

[Lilavati]

One could argue that the mass BYBing of all these little cute breeds is causing a massive output of dogs with poor temperaments.

Maybe, and that's probably a factor, but I think it really comes down to two things: One, with the terriers, and the doxies (which are effectively terriers) these are scrappy no-nonsense little dogs. Not lap dogs.
they were bred to hunt and kill wild animals in dangerous conditions . . . they don't take crap.

Two, they are SMALL. Small dogs have much better reason to bite in self defense, and to be intimidated by the big clunky awkward creatures we are. It may not seem like provokation to set your foot down, but to a tiny animal, a strange human clomping around is scary. We are HUGE compared to them . . . and also likely to hurt them by accident, particularly children . . . is it really surprising they snap?

 

[RodneyB]

I actually wrote about this survey when I first read about it in June. By my calculations, though, the JRT came in #4 for HA, with the Beagle coming into that third spot. But then, I combined the bites on a stranger with the bites on the owner to arrive at my rankings, so who knows

If anyone is interested in how I ranked them, based on this study, my blog post is at:

http://www.dognation.net/blog/5/my-dachshund-is-meaner-than-your-pit-bull/

 

[Wimble Woof]

I'm not suprised one bit, with my job I come into contact with many different breeds and breed mixes. I personally have the hardest time with Shih Tzu's, Chi's and Poms. But they dont sell newspapers or grab anyones attention in the event of a bite, so the public is more apt to believe all that is said about Bullies and Rotties and so on.

 

[Dekka]

IME I have been snapped at and met more nasty labs than any other breed. Though labs are likely the most common breed, and all the nasty ones are NOT well bred by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[noludoru]

Maybe, and that's probably a factor, but I think it really comes down to two things: One, with the terriers, and the doxies (which are effectively terriers) these are scrappy no-nonsense little dogs. Not lap dogs.
they were bred to hunt and kill wild animals in dangerous conditions . . . they don't take crap.

Two, they are SMALL. Small dogs have much better reason to bite in self defense, and to be intimidated by the big clunky awkward creatures we are. It may not seem like provokation to set your foot down, but to a tiny animal, a strange human clomping around is scary. We are HUGE compared to them . . . and also likely to hurt them by accident, particularly children . . . is it really surprising they snap?

Nope, not a bit - I think bad breeding/training/lack of socialization factor into it as well, ESPECIALLY in other breeds.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

I personally am surprised. I have 7 dachshunds currently, and not ONE has any aggression issues with humans or other dogs. I don't have any problems with them fighting with each other. Jannah is a bit weary of other dogs, and will bark at them..but nothing serious. Everyone else is perfect with other dogs. And NONE of them would ever bite a human being because they are well socialized.

The only dachshund I had a problem with was when I was younger. her name was Hannah, and she was very aggressive. She would bite anyone who wasn't my mom, me, and my brother. It wouldn't matter if it was a friend of mine who she saw everyday. And she would also kill small animals (Cats, rodents) and she HATED longhaired dogs. She used to get into nasty fights with her own daughter (A dachshund/poodle mix). They had to be separated 24/7..They got into some pretty nasty fights, which even resulted in Emily (her daughter) losing one of her ears.

But other than her, I have never had any issues with my dachshunds being biters, and they would never bite anyone.

I hate these stupid lists of which dogs are more aggressive, or which dogs are better family pets, etc. They are not on q at all. They interview a certain amount of people, and don't get true results.

 

[corgi_love]

I personally am surprised. I have 7 dachshunds currently, and not ONE has any aggression issues with humans or other dogs. I don't have any problems with them fighting with each other. Jannah is a bit weary of other dogs, and will bark at them..but nothing serious. Everyone else is perfect with other dogs. And NONE of them would ever bite a human being because they are well socialized.

The only dachshund I had a problem with was when I was younger. her name was Hannah, and she was very aggressive. She would bite anyone who wasn't my mom, me, and my brother. It wouldn't matter if it was a friend of mine who she saw everyday. And she would also kill small animals (Cats, rodents) and she HATED longhaired dogs. She used to get into nasty fights with her own daughter (A dachshund/poodle mix). They had to be separated 24/7..They got into some pretty nasty fights, which even resulted in Emily (her daughter) losing one of her ears.

But other than her, I have never had any issues with my dachshunds being biters, and they would never bite anyone.

I hate these stupid lists of which dogs are more aggressive, or which dogs are better family pets, etc. They are not on q at all. They interview a certain amount of people, and don't get true results.

I don't think it was being implied that your Dachies are aggressive. It's a statistic. I'm sure that training and dog experience can also come into play as well as just bad breeding.

So yeah, I wasn't shocked by the list either. JRT's scare be TBH, I've met so many mean, aggressive ones even at the dog park, in PetSmart, Vets offices, etc.. Anyway, I'm just glad to not see Pit Bulls, Rotties, GSD's, or Dobermans at the top. I wish more people read this.

 

[Wimble Woof]

On this whole note... my man called me last night from out of town and said he was bitten by a Chi on the hand ( the customer has 4 Chi's at the house he is working on and one of the little buggers bit him) He said he probably needed a stitch or 2, not sure if he went for them or not, havent talked to him tonight.

 

[Lilavati]

I personally am surprised. I have 7 dachshunds currently, and not ONE has any aggression issues with humans or other dogs. I don't have any problems with them fighting with each other. Jannah is a bit weary of other dogs, and will bark at them..but nothing serious. Everyone else is perfect with other dogs. And NONE of them would ever bite a human being because they are well socialized.

The only dachshund I had a problem with was when I was younger. her name was Hannah, and she was very aggressive. She would bite anyone who wasn't my mom, me, and my brother. It wouldn't matter if it was a friend of mine who she saw everyday. And she would also kill small animals (Cats, rodents) and she HATED longhaired dogs. She used to get into nasty fights with her own daughter (A dachshund/poodle mix). They had to be separated 24/7..They got into some pretty nasty fights, which even resulted in Emily (her daughter) losing one of her ears.

But other than her, I have never had any issues with my dachshunds being biters, and they would never bite anyone.

I hate these stupid lists of which dogs are more aggressive, or which dogs are better family pets, etc. They are not on q at all. They interview a certain amount of people, and don't get true results.

We had doxies too, and they were great with people and other dogs (not so good with other animals). But they were well bred and well raised, and that does make a huge difference. Notably, the only problem we had was with an elderly dachshund who had just gotten the fright of her life . . . when my mother went to grab her Dulcie snapped at her . . . but that was pure fear, and not recognizing Mom under the circumstances.

I concur about the nasty labs. I actually don't think there are that many of them, statistically, but the exist, and there are so MANY labs, and a big, angry dog is something you don't miss. What bothers me is the . . .oh, its a lab, its friendly . . . don't count on it, pal.

 

[mantine]

We had a dachshund also and she was very loving and we had no problems with her at all. I have always known and heard that smaller dogs will be more aggressive just because of their size, My main reason for posting the article was for exactly what corgi love said...is that it was nice not to see the usual "in the news" breeds like pit bulls and rotties, etc.

 

[Sweet72947]

I concur about the nasty labs. I actually don't think there are that many of them, statistically, but the exist, and there are so MANY labs, and a big, angry dog is something you don't miss. What bothers me is the . . .oh, its a lab, its friendly . . . don't count on it, pal.

I have one of those, Daisy is terrified of people, so she becomes aggressive when they come on my property. I work hard to keep her under control, and to keep her out of situations where somebody could get hurt. I wish more people would do the same with their dogs, big and small.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

I know it wasn't implied mine were aggressive! I was just giving my experience of dachshunds. And I have met lots of dachshunds at the dog park, when I worked at PetSmart, my friends have dachshund mixes..I personally have yet (other than the one when I was younger) to meet an aggressive dachshund, even one owned by an ignorant owner!

I have though met aggressive labs (LOTS of them at the dog park), aggressive Chows, Lots of chis/mixes of chis (That one isn't surprising at all....they are so poorly bred, and not properly taken care of. I have one of those myself..well, she WAS aggressive, but it was fear aggression. It was when we first got her 2 years ago, she was being starved by her previous owner and we saved her from that situation. She was completely afraid of humans. You lifted your hand to scratch your nose and she would cower in fear. She bit if you tried to touch her or moved towards her. She for sure would have been euthanized at the SPCA if she ended up there. Its been 2 years and shes not the same dog at all. Anyone can touch her, pick her up, kiss her..shes such a sweetie now! It took her about a year to get over her fear of humans!

 

[Maxy24]

I really don't like any of these stats things, they are not really reliable. Unless you can somehow get every person in the country (or state) to tell what breeds they have been bit by (and then, you could only rely on purebreds, all mixes should be mixes not "*this breed* mix" as who the heck knows how many breeds are in there) there is no way to know the true stats. I know it's a relief to see a list without the usually targeted breeds on it, but to me this is just as sad as showing off a list with Pit Bulls at #1, the only good thing about this sort of list is that there is little risk of Doxies being banned and killed off by cold hearted people. I know the list was not posted to make people think poorly of Doxies or to say that anyone believes that this list is accurate but I do think it's odd that we all get riled up if the list has Pitties, Rotties, Dobes etc. but nod our heads and say "yeah that makes sense" when small dogs are on the list. Unless of course you actually feel that small dogs are prone to aggression (like some people think Pitties, Rotties, Dobes etc. are). I do understand though the relief to see dogs on an aggressive dog list who have no chance of being banned (or at least not any time soon) though.